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Chimchar Line/DPPt
Chimchar is available as the Fire-type starter in all three games. In Diamond and Pearl, it can be picked near Lake Verity for the Starly battle, whereas in Platinum it can be received directly from Professor Rowan on Route 201. Blaziken's Sinnoh cousin! Infernape was the first to continue the Fire/Fighting combo tradition started in Hoenn, which later got much hatred coming from fans all over the world. In Infernape's case, said hatred is more than unjustified: not only its typing is very useful in this region - and this includes both of its STABs - it also gets amazing level up moves from fairly early on, learning the absolutely broken Close Combat only at level 36. Infernape is not the best at taking hits, but it is a war machine and will rarely ever need to worry about whether or not it can survive an enemy move, with the right coverage. Most of the great moves the line learns by TM also come as early as within the fourth gym, with Grass Knot being an option ever since after Gardenia, and both Flamethrower and Focus Blast popping up in Veilstone City before Maylene. The Chimchar line is so well-versed that even the type specialists that specialise in a type Monferno and Infernape is weak to are hardly ever entirely impossible for them, as their movepool will usually allow a KO or two even in difficult, unfavourable conditions. This line is easily one of the most reliable to steamroll Sinnoh with. Important Matchups - Platinum = * Rival (Route 201): Just spam Scratch, it is the easiest way to win. Only critical hits can get Chimchar, as Piplup is slower. * Rival (Route 203): Spam Ember against Starly, watching out for Quick Attack damage at all times, then duck as soon as Piplup comes out: it has STAB Bubble, so it will not be fun for Chimchar to fight. * Gym #1 - Roark (Oreburgh City, Rock-type): Chimchar should never come close to any of his Pokémon, as Geodude and Onix both have STAB moves and Cranidos' Headbutt is very powerful, and Chimchar cannot really deal much damage to any of the three. Monferno, however, is pretty good in this battle: it can dispose of Geodude with an average of two hits, and up to three, thanks to Mach Punch; Onix is 3HKOed but its Rock Throw does not do much, and Cranidos is a certain 2HKO, while its Headbutt can 3HKO Monferno at best. Beware, however, of Defense-lowering natures in the event that Onix uses Screech: if Cranidos throws a Headbutt on top of that, any Monferno that is not in absolute top shape will be in serious trouble. * Mars (Valley Windworks): Ember works fine against Zubat; it does not have any Flying moves, but Toxic will be troublesome if Monferno needs to stay in to fight Purugly as well. Bring Antidotes, as Ember will only 3HKO unless it scores the burn on the very first turn. If Monferno has not been poisoned, however, Purugly should not be difficult: healing on the first turn is wise, so that Fake Out will not make Monferno waste a turn; Mach Punch 3HKOs it, and its Normal moves can only 4HKO. * Gym #2 - Gardenia (Eterna City, Grass-type): Flame Wheel is a ticket to victory here, as it 2HKOs everything Gardenia has in its natural state. Turtwig might even set up Sunny Day and simplify Monferno's job, but do not tempt fate by stalling it, as it might Reflect instead; while Reflect alone is not enough to turn the matchup upside down, it will take an extra hit for Monferno to beat Gardenia's Pokémon, resulting in a significantly longer fight. At any rate, Monferno will win: Roserade is the one that can deal the most damage, and that is through a not-certain-4HKO Magical Leaf. * Jupiter (Galactic Eterna Building): While Zubat can technically be 2HKOed with Flame Wheel before it does the same with Wing Attack, it is better for Monferno to save its health for Skuntank, which is much scarier. Monferno has decent chances of winning against it with the same move, as it resists its ominous Night Slash; however, Flame Wheel being a mere 4HKO is not encouraging, as Monferno can still fall prey to accuracy shenanigans with SmokeScreen, or have its Defense lowered by Screech. Additionally, Skuntank has a Sitrus Berry attached, and that alone covers the damage of one Flame Wheel use. Be careful. * Gym #3 - Fantina (Hearthome City, Ghost-type): Duskull will give Monferno an easy time; even though it has Future Sight, the move will not hit for Psychic damage in this generation, but typeless damage instead, meaning it will not be super effective. Both Duskull and Haunter are 3HKOed by Flame Wheel, though unlike Duskull, Haunter can pull nasty confusion shenanigans on Monferno with Confuse Ray and further render it powerless with Hypnosis. Fight Haunter with caution, and do not fight Mismagius at all; its Shadow Ball outclasses Flame Wheel by far. * Rival (Hearthome City): The lead Staravia is nothing but trouble for Monferno, sporting both Intimidate and Wing Attack; leave it to a better counter. Flame Wheel will easily OHKO Roselia. Ponyta is not too scary, as its best move is Tackle, so Monferno can 3HKO it with Mach Punch. Prinplup, of course, should be fought by another Pokémon. * Gym #4 - Maylene (Veilstone City, Fighting-type): It is essential for Monferno to have either Flamethrower or Fire Blast, in order to be successful in this fight; if using Fire Blast, it should be supported by the Wide Lens as well, to reduce its chances of missing. All three can be found in Veilstone as buyables or Game Corner prizes. Fire Blast OHKOs Meditite, whereas Flamethrower only 2HKOs; either way, Meditite's Confusion can only 3HKO Monferno. Machoke is 2HKOed by both of the moves and has hopes of 2HKOing back only if it uses Karate Chop and scores two critical hits in a row, a circumstance that is unlikely to happen, as its Speed is also lower than Monferno's and it cannot survive more than a single hit. Lucario, like Meditite, is only OHKOed for certain by Fire Blast; however, its Speed is higher than Monferno's and its Bone Rush kills even from full health starting at four hits, or three hits with one critical hit. In order to outspeed for certain, Monferno will need at least 78 in its Speed stat. Alternatively, using an X Speed against Meditite or Machoke is an option; preferably Meditite, as it deals the lesser amount of damage. * Rival (Pastoria City): Staravia's Wing Attack and Intimidate are still bothersome even for a fully evolved Infernape, though unlike Monferno, Infernape can OHKO Staravia with Fire Blast or opt for the 2HKO with Flamethrower, as its Wing Attack only 3HKOs. Ponyta is OHKOed by Close Combat or Earthquake. Any Fire move will dispose of Roselia. Prinplup should be left alone: Close Combat is not an OHKO, and after even just one defensive drop BubbleBeam can one-shot. * Gym #5 - Crasher Wake (Pastoria City, Water-type): Infernape may potentially do well against Quagsire thanks to Grass Knot, which OHKOs it. However, Gyarados does have Intimidate, making the OHKO with ThunderPunch impossible; while an Infernape with good Defense may survive a Waterfall, this risk is better off not being taken. Floatzel is only slightly less dicey, but more predictable: its Aqua Jet comes close to cutting Infernape's health to half, but Brine is a straight up 2HKO from full health. ThunderPunch can 2HKO too, but only if Infernape has not been on the battlefield the whole time; otherwise, Gyarados' Intimidate will prevent that and turn the matchup in Floatzel's favour. * Cyrus (Celestic Town): Sneasel is a piece of cake for Infernape, which can also 2HKO Golbat with Flamethrower or Fire Blast before it deals much in the way of damage. Murkrow may be one-shot by Fire Blast or Close Combat, though the OHKO is not certain and it does have Drill Peck; unless Infernape is sure to outspeed and OHKO, Fire Blast is better than Close Combat, as Murkrow's Drill Peck is a clean OHKO after even just one defensive trop. * Rival (Canalave City): Fire Blast will OHKO Heracross and Roserade; Flamethrower will not. Either way, even Heracross cannot 2HKO with Brick Break, its strongest move, so this is not an issue. Staraptor is only 2HKOed, but its Aerial Ace can also only 2HKO in return, and Infernape should be able to outspeed it. Rapidash has an OHKO chance if Infernape has Earthquake, otherwise it will be a 2HKO or more, depending on statistical variation (Infernape's Attack, damage variation etc.). Close Combat will do the trick against Empoleon, but only in the event that Infernape already negated Staraptor's Intimidate drop, if it was leading the team. * Gym #6 - Byron (Canalave City, Steel-type): Flamethrower Magneton and Steelix, then Close Combat Bastiodon. GG! * Saturn (Lake Valor): Nuke his lead Golbat with Flamethrower or ThunderPunch; its Air Cutter will fail to 2HKO without critical hits. Toxicroak and Bronzor are much easier, just go with Earthquake for the former and Flamethrower for the latter or, in absence of Earthquake, Flamethrower for both. * Mars (Lake Verity): Flamethrower or Fire Blast will once again work against Golbat and Bronzor. Use Close Combat against Purugly, which is now legal and much less scary than it was in Valley Windworks. * Gym #7 - Candice (Snowpoint City, Ice-type): Flamethrower EVERYTHING! Infernape's Fire STAB is guaranteed to OHKO the whole of Candice's team, with the possible exception of Froslass who, if Infernape's Special Attack is lower than average, might survive a hit with a very low damage roll. Either way, it can only 2HKO with its own Psychic, so this will only ever be a problem for Infernape if Froslass scores a critical hit or starts spamming Double Team and making Infernape miss its attacks. * Cyrus (Galactic HQ): Flamethrower for Sneasel, and then duck for Crobat and Honchkrow, both of which have Flying STAB. Honchkrow's is particularly dangerous, as it has high chances of OHKOing and none of Infernape's moves can do that. Crobat "only" has Air Cutter, but decent Special Attack and chance of critting, as well as higher Speed than Infernape; leave it to another Pokémon. * Saturn (Galactic HQ): Exact same team as the Lake Valor face-off, thus the exact same principles apply: ThunderPunch or Flamethrower for Golbat, and just Flamethrower for the other two. That is it. * Mars and Jupiter (Spear Pillar, tag battle with rival): Infernape is perfect for getting rid of the Bronzor in front. Which one to take down first depends on what else Infernape is scheduled to fight against in this matchup; Mars', the one on the left, has Light Screen, whereas Jupiter's, the one on the right, has Reflect. Both also have Extrasensory, a 3-4HKO against Infernape. In the immediate, KOing Mars' first is more useful since a Light Screen will screw up the OHKO for the other one if it does set it up; however, leaving both Bronzor slots open will expose Infernape to a double Golbat threat later on. By the time Golbat comes around, Infernape should either seize the 2HKO with Flamethrower if possible, or back off before Extrasensory and Air Cutter (or worse, two Air Cutters per turn) pile up more damage than needed. Infernape can come back in later on - or stay, if the battle was managed well enough to keep it fairly healthy - and take down Purugly with Close Combat, though consider carefully how much damage it is going to take from the move that comes next, as Infernape's defenses will be lowered. Lastly, Earthquake is a great option for Skuntank, though Dig may be even better: it allows Infernape to be underground for one turn, hopefully letting the rival's Pokémon whittle down the enemy Pokémon a little more before Infernape finishes them off. * Cyrus (Distortion World): This matchup is bad all around for Infernape. Honchkrow kills it with Drill Peck, Gyarados with Aqua Tail, and Crobat 2HKOs with Air Slash; all these Pokémon outdamage Infernape, and Crobat even outspeeds it. Infernape can only unleash a Close Combat against Houndoom and either Close Combat or Fire Blast against Weavile, which will OHKO both of them. * Giratina (Distortion World): Do not. Giratina can 2HKO Infernape with Shadow Force, and Infernape's moves come nowhere close to that damage throughput. * Gym #8 - Volkner (Sunyshore City, Electric-type): Earthquake OHKOs Raichu and Luxray, and has an OHKO chance against Jolteon. Jolteon could, however, use Thunder Wave on Infernape before going down, thus packing paralysis healers is a wise idea. Electivire is 2HKOed by Earthquake, but beware that a critical Giga Impact from it results in a bygone Infernape. * Rival (Pokémon League): Just the usual against his often seen Pokémon: Flamethrower (or Flare Blitz, if Infernape now has it) for Heracross and Roserade; Staraptor can be 2HKOed as well, but bear in mind a critical Aerial Ace will send Infernape flying. In order to fight Snorlax and Empoleon, Infernape needs to be at a neutral or beneficial Attack modifier; if Staraptor has been beaten, make sure to negate its Intimidate before proceeding. Close Combat will OHKO Empoleon, unless Infernape's Attack is very low, but against Snorlax the OHKO is only a possibility, not a certainty; calculate properly with Infernape's level and stats, as a post-Close Combat Earthquake coming from Snorlax is certain to kill Infernape. Lastly, use Earthquake against Rapidash. * Elite Four Aaron (Pokémon League, Bug-type): Infernape's chosen Fire STAB will swiftly dispose of anything not called Drapion, which will go down to two Earthquakes instead. * Elite Four Bertha (Pokémon League, Ground-type): Grass Knot OHKOs Golem and Rhyperior. Whiscash can be 2HKOed by Grass Knot if Infernape's Defense modifiers are still neutral (or positive), as its Aqua Tail will not kill unless Infernape has had any Defense drops; even with one drop, Aqua Tail can be tanked at full health, but this poses a risk. Grass Knot is also a 2HKO against Hippowdon, though its Earthquake is not far from an OHKO even with Infernape's likely level advantage; fight Hippowdon only if there are no other options, and only if, once again, Infernape has not suffered any Defense drops yet. Lastly, Gliscor is 2HKOed by Flamethrower or Fire Blast, but much like Hippowdon, its Earthquake deals conspicuous damage; finding an alternative is preferable. * Elite Four Flint (Pokémon League, Fire-type): Earthquake EVERYTHING! Houndoom, Flareon and Rapidash will be OHKOed by the move. Infernape and Magmortar are 2HKOed instead, and they can each 2HKO Infernape back; this is not an issue for the first Pokémon Infernape fights, but it will fall to the second if it stays on the battlefield, or if unfortunate critical hits occur. * Elite Four Lucian (Pokémon League, Psychic-type): Infernape can take on Mr. Mime with two Earthquakes and OHKO Bronzong with Flare Blitz, but that is it. There is no way for Infernape to win against Espeon, Alakazam or Gallade, as they all have a higher damage throughput than Infernape does and Alakazam may also outspeed it. * Champion Cynthia (Pokémon League): Spiritomb has Psychic and can 2HKO Infernape with it; Infernape can also 2HKO with Flare Blitz, but this will leave it both exposed to critical hits and in very low health after just one battle. Roserade and Lucario both fall to Fire STAB; for Lucario, Flamethrower is sufficient, though Roserade will only be OHKOed by either Fire Blast or Flare Blitz. Avoid Milotic, Togekiss and Garchomp like the plague; the first two come dangerously close to OHKOing Infernape, whose moves can barely do okay damage, and Cynthia's ace destroys Infernape outright. * Post-Game: Infernape may be amazing, but the post-League segment is ridden with strong legendaries. Have some rest. }} Moves Chimchar's initial movepool is a very standard duo of Scratch and Leer. It gets its first STAB move at level 7, in the form of Ember. At level 9 it learns Taunt, but it will not be very useful, as even a fully evolved Infernape will not be stopping a lot of setuppers without risking to die itself; it should then be evolved as soon as level 14, so that Monferno may learn Mach Punch at the very same level. This move is very good against the first gym and actually gives Chimchar pickers a decent option to not wipe right away. Chimchar may optionally be kept a Chimchar until level 23 to learn Nasty Plot, too, which may be useful later down the road; however, this option is discouraged due to Infernape's generally poor chances at setting up, and Chimchar's high death rate if kept a Chimchar for longer than the bare minimum needed in such a difficult region. Monferno learns Fury Swipes at 16, which can be considered, but is unreliable at best; the much more useful Flame Wheel comes at 19, and is a welcome upgrade to Ember. Feint comes at 26, but should just be given up on. Torment comes at 29 instead, and could be situationally useful, but not enough to justify wasting a move slot for it. At level 36, Monferno will learn the very amazing Close Combat, a move that will wreck everything that does not resist it after it evolves into Infernape, and offers all the Fighting coverage Infernape will ever need in the run. If Infernape cannot evolve at 36 for some reason, it will attempt to learn Close Combat again at level 41. The other moves are underwhelming, except the very last: Fire Spin at 45 is plain laughable, and Calm Mind at 53 could actually be considered, if it were not for Infernape's relatively shallow special movepool, at least compared to the physical one, which is really amazing. Calm Mind sets are still viable, though; Infernape will "only" need to find the right Pokémon to set up against, as its defensive stats are not too great. Lastly, at level 57, Flare Blitz makes its appearance, crowning Infernape's movepool wonderfully. Many TMs are available to the line as very welcome coverage boosts and power-ups: Brick Break can provide Infernape Fighting coverage before it learns Close Combat, though it will likely not stay on Monferno for long; Rock Slide and Stone Edge are inaccurate, but fantastic to use. Bear in mind the miss rate for both of them, unless Infernape is carrying a Wide Lens from the Veilstone Game Corner; in that case, Rock Slide is 99% accurate, and Stone Edge sits at a much more comfortable 88%. In the late game, Earthquake does wonders, if the team is lacking a counter for Electric-types. Shadow Claw is also a good option for Ghost-types, and deals decent damage despite the average base power. Bulk Up is a good choice for physically durable Infernape, as it will give them even more attacking power, if used against enemies from which Infernape can take a hit without dying; its more offensive alternative is Swords Dance, though also less usable, due to the lack of defensive boosts and Infernape not being very good at taking hits. For special sets, there are not a lot of options for Infernape, but the ones that are available should suffice; Flamethrower is one, backed up by Fire Blast for lovers of danger or Wide Lens carriers, as well as Grass Knot and Focus Blast, which is very inaccurate, but sadly the only option for Fighting coverage on the special side. Will-O-Wisp may actually help with setting up against physical enemies, as the Attack nerf given by the burn makes Infernape way sturdier; critical hits will also not ignore burns, making it a safe-to-use move... if not for the low accuracy. Tutor-wise, its Platinum options include Fire Punch as a physical alternative to Flamethrower while waiting on Flare Blitz, and ThunderPunch for those who are pressed for better Water coverage, though Infernape should not attempt to fight Water-types if other options are available for them. Vacuum Wave also offers a special alternative to Mach Punch. Recommended movesets: ''Physical: Close Combat, Flare Blitz / Flamethrower / Fire Blast / Overheat, Rock Slide / Stone Edge / Shadow Claw, Bulk Up / Swords Dance / Earthquake / ThunderPunch'' ''Special: Calm Mind / Nasty Plot, Flamethrower / Fire Blast / Overheat, Focus Blast / Close Combat, Grass Knot'' Recommended Teammates * Grass-types: Infernape's most common enemies are either Water or Ground, and Grass-types do a good job at covering for them. It is surprisingly difficult to get a good Grass-type in pre-Platinum Sinnoh, but they can be an asset on any team Infernape is in, granting it safe switch-outs. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Carnivine, Abomasnow, Leafeon (Platinum only), Tangrowth (Platinum only), Tropius (Platinum only) * Steel-types: Although weak to Ground like Infernape is, Steel-types are the only ones that can offer defensive coverage against Infernape's two other weaknesses, Psychic and Flying. A Steel-type can also be guaranteed by picking up the Shield Fossil in the Underground. Overall, it is likely easier to obtain a Steel-type than a good Grass-type. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Steelix, Bastiodon, Bronzong, Probopass (Platinum only), Magnezone (Platinum only), Scizor (Platinum only) * Dark-types: In absence of good Steel-types, or even as a complement to them, a Dark-type may be designed as the resident Psychic counter. Psychic-types are not too common in Sinnoh, but Lucian is difficult to fight for teams that are not well prepared to face his Pokémon. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Honchkrow, Skuntank, Spiritomb, Drapion, Weavile, Umbreon (Platinum only), Houndoom (Platinum only) Other Chimchar's stats Monferno's stats Infernape's stats * What Nature do I want? Any nature works, really. Attack-boosting ones are up top, with Adamant being the best, Lonely and Naughty being workable; even Modest, Mild and Rash Infernape can prove themselves useful with a special set, though Calm Mind will only come later on during the game. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Chimchar should become a Monferno before fighting Roark and then an Infernape either before Fantina, if playing Diamond or Pearl, or before Crasher Wake if playing Platinum. Do not stall Chimchar's evolution as it will not get Mach Punch otherwise, and do not stall Monferno's evolution either, since there is no point doing so. * How good is the Chimchar line in a Nuzlocke? Very, very good, and capable of taking on a lot of things, even more so in Platinum where its coverage is empowered by tutors. Infernape is not terrible at taking hits despite its several weaknesses, and will never disappoint in terms of offensive power. Chimchar's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Water, Ground, Rock * Resistances: Ice, Fire, Grass, Steel, Bug * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Poison, Ghost, Electric, Dragon, Psychic, Flying, Dark Monferno's and Infernape's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Water, Ground, Psychic, Flying * Resistances: Ice, Fire, Grass, Steel, Dark, Bug (x0.25) * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Poison, Ghost, Electric, Dragon, Rock Category:Diamond/Pearl/Platinum